Dear Friends:
Psalm 111:2 "The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein."
The events of the last three weeks have been one of those blessings that are hard to describe. We are at Central Park Neighborhood Church in Aberdeen, WA. As many of you may recall, Aberdeen is the last city in the visions we have seen the Lord begin to fulfill as of last year. Before I tell you what the Lord is doing, I want to tell you about the battleground we are on.
As it turns out, the Grays Harbor area is one of the most ungodly areas in the United States. I have been told less than three percent of the population attends church regularly. When Jan and I came here, we could feel the broken heart of the Lord. Oh, what a mission field! This area has one of the highest suicide rates, teenage pregnancy rates, and, I believe, one of the highest abortion rates around. More teenagers and young adults die of aids in this area than from any other reason. No wonder the kids didn't come to church.
We were seeking the Lord as to where He wanted us to start this New Year. It was, in some ways, right next to the gates of hell because of the need. We have just ended our third week here. Oh, what a wonderful God we serve! The Pastor of this church is a wonderful man of God - Rev. Robert Rester. He had spent almost three weeks in fasting and prayer before we came. When we arrived on Saturday evening, Jan and I peeked into the church to see them having an evening prayer meeting. We so enjoyed seeing so many calling on the Lord to move in this area.
The first week started off with over 55 people giving their hearts to the Lord, and I really do not know how many received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. From the beginning, God started to move on the young people. Night after night, they came running to the altar asking the Lord to move in their hearts. I do know, on Thursday night, the Holy Spirit fell in an awesome way. Thirteen people, mostly from the youth group, received the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.
On Monday, the 16th of January, a lady came down for prayer, who had her shoulder removed. She had an artificial one from a previous operation. It did not work, so the doctor had to remove it. She was not able to sleep without great pain and was asking for prayer to be healed. It has been three weeks now, and she has not taken one pain pill. She feels the Lord will restore what the devil has taken. Oh, what a mighty God we serve!
On Friday, the 20th, a young girl who was not able to walk came forward on crutches for prayer. She had some kind of tumor on her knee. When the doctor removed it, she was not able to walk because of the pain. The Lord had told me to take the crutches away from her and make her walk with me. Because she was in such pain, even my faith started to fail. The Lord said to make her run, but I let her sit down. She looked up with tears in her eyes, and said she knew Jesus was healing her. While she was sitting in the chair, she received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. When service was over, faith came on her again. She used only one crutch to walk out to the car. While on the way home, God touched her leg again, and she knew she was healed. She got out of the car and walked into the house, and has not used the crutches again. Isn't the Lord wonderful!
On Monday, the 23rd of January, a lady with a tumor waiting for a biopsy, went back to the hospital. Now they cannot even find the tumor! Praise the Lord! Three people who had asthma came forward with their breathing machines. It was so wonderful to see how God delivered them all from this disease. Only one has said it was a battle for a few days, but she had not used any medication and has won the battle every time.
Each night now it seems like there is standing-room-only. People are so hungry to see the Lord move. A woman came forward with a cane, and could hardly walk until the Spirit of God came on her. She went running up and down the center aisle of the church saying, "I can't do this, I can't do this." I just love you so much, Jesus!
The young kids are coming every night now. One of the biggest complaints of the parents now is that they can't get their kids to leave church. Before, they couldn't get them to come; now they can't get them to leave!
Two things happened the third week that I know the Lord wants you to know. On Tuesday, the 31st of January, a 12-year-old girl who was blind came forward for prayer. When I asked her what she could see, she said everything was blank. She looked like an angel, but she was blind. Her sister came up front with her and prayed with me as I began to pray. When I saw the passion and urgency of the 14-year-old sister praying, it moved my heart and faith. The Holy Spirit told me to have the youth group pray for her, and I did. They prayed right into the throne room. After about 30 minutes, I came back to the group. They were still praying, and I saw God on the whole group, including this girl. I reached in and asked her if she could see. She said, "Yes!" When I took her out, she could see just fine. On the way out of the church, her sister asked her to look at the clock on the wall and tell the time. She did! She has been to every meeting since praising the Lord. Each time I see her, I could cry at the wonderful grace of God!
The second thing that happened was with the youth group. God has come on these kids in a very powerful way. They asked to have an all-night prayer meeting. Imagine that! Teenagers asking to spend the night in prayer, not out partying! Well, I want to tell you the glory came down. At 10:30 PM, the adults started praying. The kids began about 11 PM. There was standing-room- only for the Friday evening service. My son, Steve, and two of his friends helped lead the all-night prayer meeting. What a wonderful one it was! About 40 kids came between the ages of 10 and 18. Because it was kids' night, the Lord said to let them alone. God blessed them wonderfully. Many who had not received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit did; then the glory of the Lord fell on them. From the way it was described, a holiness fell on the whole room. Almost all fell under the power of God. Those who did not fall could not stand in His presence, and either sat or lay down on the ground to worship the Lord. What is the fruit of this? The kids are so excited about the Lord, they want to have another prayer meeting next Friday! Imagine them spending the night praying for the salvation of their friends! No wonder Paul said, "Oh, that I may know Him". Over 170 people have come to the Lord these past three weeks in one of the most unchurched areas in America.
I am writing this to you because I want you to know the Lord is still moving. The fire still burns brightly. It has been over 400 services now in less than 10 months. I need your help!
Please, pray, and I mean now, for an even greater outpouring of His Holy Spirit here in the Grays Harbor area. Come against the prince and power of the air that has had free reign in this area. Come against him by the power of the blood of the Lamb, because Jesus gave us power and authority over him. Don't wait until tomorrow, because I need every one of your prayers now.
Second, please pray for a youth pastor needed here in Central Park. He may have to get a second job to help support himself at first, but he will be coming into one great miracle team of kids who are on fire for the Lord. Third, please pray for Jan and I and our family. As the battle gets bigger, so do the problems. We need all the prayer warriors united in this battle.
See You In The Glory,
May the Commanded Blessing of God be upon you and yours.
Jerry & Jan Gaffney
Jerry Gaffney Ministries
PO Box 1020 Centralia, WA 98531
360-807-9180
http://www.anointed.net/ E-mail jerry@anointed.net E-mail jgaffney@aa.net